If your belongings cross a state line, the rules that protect you come from federal regulation (49 CFR Part 375), enforced by FMCSA. They are the same whether you are going to Colorado or leaving it. Here is the short version, written for someone arriving.
Check before you book
- Ask for the USDOT number and look it up at FMCSA’s Protect Your Move tool. You are looking for active household-goods authority and a name and address that match the paperwork.
- Is it a carrier or a broker? A carrier owns the trucks. A broker sells your job to one. Ask who will actually load and drive.
- Get a written estimate after a survey, not a price over the phone from someone who has not seen your home.
- Read what you are handed. The mover must give you FMCSA’s rights-and-responsibilities booklet.
Estimate types
| Type | Effect at delivery |
|---|---|
| Binding | You pay the written price for what is listed. Items or services added later can raise it. |
| Non-binding | Price follows actual weight, but the mover cannot demand more than 110 percent of the estimate at delivery; any balance is billed afterward. |
Liability and claims
- The federal default is full value protection. You only get the cheaper released value (60 cents per pound per article) if you sign a waiver.
- You have nine months from delivery to file a written claim.
- Note damage on the inventory before you sign at delivery, and photograph it.
How we choose who receives a request
We send your request only to movers that hold an active federal household-goods registration, carry insurance and have a BBB A+ rating. We check each one ourselves before it receives a request, and we send it to three at most. We do not rank movers or publish ratings here.
If you later move again inside Colorado, remember that purely in-state moves fall under the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, not FMCSA.